To Be a Royal Knight
by Talos the Saiyan
Summary: It is the early years of the Royal Knights. The Demon Lord Beelzemon, who has loaded countless millions of Digimon has been tracked down by a taskforce of Royal Knights. His power however proves to be too great and soon Gallantmon stands alone against the Demon Lord. But can even the crimson-clad knight defeat one of the most powerful of the Seven Demon Lords?


The world around you is a wasteland. Once green fields and pastures ploughed and bloody from the battle that has taken place. The air is soaked in data; the life-blood of fallen Digimon. Most of them fallen to your hands.

A savage grin is fixed on your face even as you pick yourself up off the ground. Your body hurts; you've been knocked around before but this is something else... Damn Royal Knights. Damn them and their ''holier than thou'' attitude. No wonder you and all your kind despise them. No wonder they earned the wrath of the Demon Lords.

Before you, one of their number sinks to her knees. She is tired; the battle has taken its toil on her as well as on you. Her armour is rent asunder in places and blood can be seen spurting from several deep wounds caused by your claws and your bullets. If she were anything else but a defensive mega she'd be dead already... As is, you're pretty sure that you could finish her off if it was only you two.

But it is not. Out of the smoke, the others emerge. Gallantmon; that stuck-up knight with the worst attitude of the lot. All ''honour'' this and ''chivalry'' that. His armour even includes a cape! A frigging cape for no other purpose than that he can swoosh it dramatically whenever he makes his big entrances. His arm has shifted into a lance. Tongues of electricity dance around it as he powers up his signature Lightning Joust attack. To his side Dynasmon. Almost as annoying as Gallantmon. Dynasmon has raw power in spades. It was him that hit you the first time and knocked you about so much. But his defence is lacking. Finally, the runt of the litter. Magamon. He's not even a real mega.

" So it takes four of you guys to fight me even semi-equally?" You snarl. " I thought you knights had pride." Not to mention the massive army of lesser Digimon you obliterated earlier. Embarrassing as it is, the knights actually managed to ambush you. Whether it was because you weren't paying attention or if they just suddenly got sneaky you're not too sure. "Not that I ain't flattered but really. You guys don't even know the meaning of the word fair."

Dynasmon rises to the taunt. Him and his stupid code of ethics. Always so easy to prickle. He roars and charges; his dragonic wings spread wide. Gallantmon shouts a warning but it is too late and as he closes, you take him. Sharp talons extend from your fingers and with a cry of ''Darkness Claw!'' you strike. Blood splatters across the ground as he sags, the strength leaving his body.

He's not dead but he won't be fighting anymore for a while. You can load him later, assuming the other two give you a chance.

Magnamon tenses up, his golden armour hiding the expression of rage you're sure is covering his face. He's almost as bad as Dynasmon... you're surprised he didn't rise to the taunt too. But that would have been too easy, wouldn't it? As is, now you have to deal with two Knights instead of three. Magnamon looks ready to charge, but Gallantmon shakes his head.

"Beelzamon, you have betrayed every offer of peace put to you. You have ransacked whole villages and destroyed entire cities. You have deleted and loaded thousands of Digimon. You and the other Demon Lords have plunged this world into civil war and chaos. I won't allow that to continue any longer."

"Oh yeah? What're you gonna do to stop me? You can't kill me. Even you gotta know that. If you do, I'll just be reborn in a few years and start all over again. That's what you ''good'' guys never understood is it? That's why you can never stop us. You don't understand our power and since you don't understand, you don't have any hope in hell of stopping it."

"You demon lords are an abomination unto the natural order!" Magnamon snarls. "When Digimon are deleted they lose their memories and reform into new personalities... Except you Demon Lords. You regain all your memories and retain your powers. No matter how many times we've destroyed you, you never stay gone. Why? Why won't you just die!"

You laugh; such a naive young fool. Were you ever like that...? Hard to remember. You've lived a lot of lives. Perhaps in the very first... But that was so long ago. Despite what the Royal Knights would like to believe, Demon Lords weren't born evil. No, that took work and practice and to be honest by now you're very good at it.

"Don't you get it, Goldy? You can't stop me. You can't stop any of us. Even if you managed to kill me here – which you won't – I'd just reform in a little bit and continue. Sure, you could try to seal me but there's not been a seal ever created which can hold a demon lord for more than a few years. You could try to put me in prison... but what place could hold a Demon Lord? Don't you see? Its useless. Nothing you do can stop me or my kind. I'd tell you to just surrender now...but that wouldn't be as much fun."

"RAAARGH! You cowardly scum!" Magnamon roars; you smirk. Just as expected. Damn Royal Knights are always so predictable.

"Magna Blast!"

The attacks slams into you; a raging torrent of golden energy released from the '''Warrior of Miracles'' a scream tears its way out of your throat. Being exposed to such pure light...it burns. But not for nothing are you one of the Seven Great Demon Lords and so, when the attack clears. You are still standing. Your whole body burns with pain, but you don't show it. You glare up at the shocked Magnamon.

"That all you got? My turn. Double Impact!"

At once, the two weapons are in your hands. The pistol-sized shotguns known as Berenjena roar and fire. The world slows to a crawl around you as it always does when you use your signature. Magnamon is moving to the side. But he's so slow. A slug could outpace him.

And speaking of slugs, two solid ones slam into his chest plate and explode with dark-source energy. His agonized scream is like music to you. The explosion blows his body back, smashing him into the ground again and again.

Huh. Pathetic. Royal Knights are supposed to be tougher than this. Still, none of them have died yet and after all the Digimon you've loaded you're pretty tough...

Maybe not that pathetic then. Still won't save them.

Gallantmon charges and this time you know that you're in for a fight. You spin the weapons around and discharge them in a hail of bullets. The crimson knights raises his shield and bulldozes through. His lance whips out and strikes you in the chest with a spar of electricity. You cry out in anger and swipe your claws across his armoured chest.

"A coward fights those weaker than himself, Beelzemon!" Gallantmon roars. " You're quick to attack those who lack the power to oppose you! Now try the same with me. If you can."

"Oh I'll do more than try! Darkness Claw!"

The shield somehow gets in the way again and you wrack your talons down its metal face. Annoying, you lash up with your foot and catch him a blow to the chest. Gallantmon is sent spinning in to the air and you summon your guns once more.

"Double Impact!"

The shower of bullets roars towards him. But unlike Magnamon, Gallantmon is no novice. He's already anticipated your move and has pointed his lance at you.

"Lightning Joust!"

The brilliant spear of white light envelops and devours your attack and rushes forwards. You are caught and pushed along by the force of the technique. You give ground under the attack. Pushed by its sheer strength. Eventually you slam into a pile of rubble and the lance detonates. Agony. You lean over, clutching your chest as a dozen small wounds ooze blood. The pain pounds through you, but more than that the thrill of combat. It has been a long time since anyone could push you to such lengths.

"Come out, Beelzemon. I know that attack wasn't enough to destroy you."

His only answer is your mocking laughter. The smoke clears and you are standing on your feet; both weapons pointing directly at him.

"I've gotta admit that was a good attack. Took me by surprise. But I ain't playing around anymore, Gallantmon! You wanna see what I can really do? Stick around!"

The call goes out. A mental command similar to the one you use to summon Berenjena. But the thing that responds this time is no pair of guns. It roars with a mechanical whine as it plummets from the sky. Behemoth. A demon-like motor-cycle with the power to enslave those who ride it. None have tamed this beast. None can.

Bar you.

The cycle lands and you're already on it by the time Gallantmon realizes just how much trouble he's in. He dances back and aims his lance again.

"Lightning Joust!"

But seated on Behemoth, you easily dodge to the side. The explosion outlines your form nicely as you aim your own weapons - no need to steer. Behemoth knows its master well. In all your many lifetimes, it is the only companion that you could ever call both constant *and* loyal. Sure, the other Demon Lords are around a lot but what demon could ever trust another? Behemoth though...it understands power. And it understands dominance.

"Double Impact!"

This time the barrage of shots doesn't come from just one direction. Roaring like some ancient animal, Behemoth circles around Gallantmon faster than the knight can react to. Bullets slam into him like a heavy rain. Aiming for the weak spots in his armour; the shoulder-joint. The neck, the faceplate.

"Arrgh." He falls to one knee, the pain overcoming him. Just the chance you were waiting for. You leap from behemoth and land a side-ways kick to him. He cries out as he smashes into the ground, his shield far from his reach.

You lick your lips; pulse pounding in your veins. That was a good fight. You've not had to fight so hard in quite a while. But of course your victory was never in doubt. And now Gallantmon – and the other knights – will die and you will load their data. Making you even stronger and ensuring that no one not the other Knights or even your ''comrades'' will be able to stop you.

"Goodbye." You growl. Berenjena is in your hands again and you raise them both. Aiming for the head. Gallantmon's armour is tough, but already weakened and at point blank range...he's not gonna be walking this one off.

"Magna Blast!" The attack slams into your back and sends you tumbling away from the crimson knight. Roaring in outrage, you rise.

Magnamon. That stupid gold-armoured clown! You should have destroyed him when he was down. But how could he get back up so quickly? You hit him hard and he was always one of the weaker knights.

Ah. Of course

Warrior of _Miracles._

Its in the damn title.

Ah well. Just means that you're gonna have to bring him down again. And make sure he stays that way this time.

"Magna Blast!"

You dodge; the landscape blurring around you as a burst of light screams past your side. The proximity of it burns but it is a lesser pain that you can easily ignore.

"That all you got? Double Impact!" Your hand-sized shotguns ring out again, spitting a hail of led towards the gold-armoured Magnamon. A grin forms across your face in anticipation of the kill, but Galllantmon interposes himself and raises his shield just in time.

Somehow, the shield holds despite its battered look. Gallantmon raises his lance/arm.

"Lightning Joust!"

The attack screams towards you like an arrow. Soon, its scream is joined by your own as it takes you in the shoulder. Throwing you back with the sheer power of the resultant explosion. In the blink of an eye, Magnamon is behind you radiating that damn golden light that annoys you so much. You turn with a sweeping kick but he parries with his armoured forearm.

"For Lord Yggdrasial, your reign ends here, Demon Lord." He spits and you can see the fury burning in his eyes. Oh but this is so rich. A young little warrior who thinks he can single-handedly save the world!

"Tough words but you don't look like you got the muscle to back 'em up!" Your thin tail – metal and rat-like – whips around and strikes at Magnamon like a spear. Though it is pretty weak compared to the rest of you it has surprise and manage to wrap about his throat. He drops everything and tries to pry it off.

Idiot.

In the flash of an eye you discharge a hail of bullets into his chest. He screams in agony and then is still.

Dead yet?

No...with mounting annoyance you notice that despite his wounds he still breaths. Though losing both blood and data at an astounding rate, he still refuses to give and and die.

Pain erupts across your back as Gallantmon's lance impales your shoulder. You scream in agony; tongues of electricity running down the lance and throwing every muscle in your back into chaos. Magnamon is thrown aside by your convulsions and for a moment the world is nothing but a haze of pain and rage.

Before you can wrench yourself free, Gallantmon throws you into the air with a motion of his blade. Weakened and bleeding, you can't muster the strength to resist as you are sent sailing up. Your limbs flap limply as the air rushes past you. Rising...rising.

And now falling.

The shock of cold air is enough to bring you back to your senses; chasing the last of the pain-haze from your mind.

Gallantmon got the drop on you. Smart one... you shouldn't have underestimated him. But maybe you can use that. Yeah. Now he thinks you're on the ropes. Thinks that you're on your last legs. You still have a few abilities that you've not shown him yet and now it is time to draw on one.

You reach deep; deep into your Digital-Core. The place where you store everything that makes you _you. _Usually light blue in colour and surrounded by a white nimbus of data. Your core is different. Its black. Black as your heart Daemon once joked with you. Perhaps he was not that far off... as a fellow Demon Lord he knew what he was talking about.

You've not seen Daemon in ages. Last you heard, some punk called UltraforceVeemon managed to bring him down and seal him away. He'll be back in a few years but 'till then you're pretty much on your own. Daemon was never a friend but he _was _an ally. Your only one amongst the Demon Lords. The others wouldn't stoop to even give you the time of day but that's fine, you don't need them. You have something that none of them do and that is what is going to get you out of this situation.

Around your Digi-Core there orbits the data of every Digimon that you have ever loaded. Thousands, no _millions _of victims all compressed into an area no larger than a football. They scream as you reach for them now. Most Digimon are broken down when loaded by a stronger enemy but not the ones loaded by you. You need them intact. For a given value of intact at least. So that you can do this.

You make your selection; single out a screaming soul.

Its power flows through you. You roar, pain floods your body as it is forced to accommodate a power that it was never meant to grasp. But you push on, brilliant _pure _white floods your form and you see red. Agony of the highest order rips through you but that doesn't matter ether.

Because Gallantmon is now rising towards you, lance extended for the final blow.

Boy he's got another thing coming.

"Hand...of **FATE!" **The pure white light blazes from your outstretched fist; it is serene, peaceful and beautiful. All things you hold no regard for. But it is also powerful; a technique you stole from a do-gooder who once tried to stop you. Fitting that it should be used to finish off another such do-gooder.

Gallantmon is still gaping in surprise when the light strikes him. It is a champion level attack but boosted by a mega level power behind it. It washes over him and for a second it seems that he is going to ignore it. But then, his whole form seems almost to catch fire and – covered in the pure light of hope – he falls to the ground.

Of course, you're still falling too but you manage to get control of the fall and though the landing sends spears of agony racing from the hole in your shoulder, you manage to land on your feet.

There. Your gaze drifts from one Royal Knight to the next. Crusadermon, the first to find you and the first to taste your wrath. Dynasmon... Bloody and beaten. Magnamon, his chest a bloody mess from where your bullets hit him. Gallantmon, down and ou-

Standing up.

You do a double-take. Almost gaping at the audacity of it. How can he get up after what you just did to him?

Sure, he's hurt. His armour burnt and cracked. That stupid cape gone now and blood leaking from rents all over his armour. He is leaning on his lance, but his eyes are proud. Glaring at you with undisguised disgust and determination.

How can he even still be standing? You've loaded _millions _of Digimon. Your power eclipses that of the Sovereign themselves! Even the mighty Omnimon, purported to be one oft he most powerful Digimon ever to exist. Even he would do better than to fight you now.

And yet...

And yet here stands one lone knight. Burnt and half-dead and yet he refuses to fall.

Refuses to die.

"RAAARH!" You fly into a rage, launching yourself at him and delivering a barrage of kicks and punches. No fancy name-calling this time, no need to call on the power of your slaves. Only you and your rage and the infirm knight. His armour buckles and shifts after every attack. Small rents become great ragged tears. Tiny streams of blood flow like rivers and you are sure that bones are broken too.

And yet he picks himself up. Again and again he rises to challenge you.

Why? How?

You only realize that you screamed that last but out-loud when Gallantmon rasps an answer.

"Do...do you think my armour is for show?"

The question seems so out of place that you pause and look at him as though he has gone mad.

"Do you think that this armour is just something I wear to keep my body protected?" He asks again. " No...it goes beyond that. You have no understanding of the force that you face."

"No I think that I'm fighting a crazy person! Double Impact!"

The shields raises in record time; Gallantmon's whole body seems to flinch at the impact and yet he stand his ground.

"Attack all you like." He growls. " I won't step back. Not one step. You hear me, Beelzemon? For all the Digimon you've loaded. For all the lives you've destroyed. You and your Demon Lords...I'll crush you all!"  
"Now you're starting to sound like Goldy!" You snarl, talons emerging to strike at the knight. He parries awkwardly.

"Magnamon is right! Evil like you can't be allowed to exist. That's why Yggrdrasial created us. So that even in the darkest night we'd be there. You call us fools for following him, you insult our honour and our chivalry. But in the end, none of that matters."

His lance slashes for you but you manage to duck away in tie.

"So I ask one more time. Do you know why I wear this armour? Crusadermon wears hers for the sake of power. She seeks to become the most powerful that none save Yggdrasial may rule over her. Dynasmon seeks a challenge; a worthy foe and to claim his honour back. Magnamon is young and idealistic and fights for what he believes. His determination a flood that can wipe away all darkness that stands before him."

As he speaks, Gallantmon seems to stand straighter and he begins to get his power back.

_Not a chance! _You think, lunging at him with your talons. He blocks one with his shield but the other arm sneaks past and impales itself deeply into his chest. Blood spurts from the wound and you get a warm feeling imagining the look of shock on the Knight's face.

"Ahahhhahah!" The laugh rips itself free from your chest. " I win knight! For all your words, all your honour, all your codes you are nothing!"  
But Gallantmon does not seem to be worried. On the contrary he almost seems...to be relaxed?

"I see now." He whispers, his voice is full of pain and yet there is a certainty therein. "So this is how it must be. I say unto you, why do I wear my armour? And the answer, oh lord of demons. Is that it is because I _must!_"

What? Suddenly, a force throws you back and Gallantmon is surrounded by a crimson aura of light.

"The Royal Knights are more than just a fighting force! More than just an army. That's what none of the others understand. Not Crusadermon, not Magnamon and not even Omnimon! They wear their armour for personal reasons they wear it to fight evil but not I... I wear mine so that I can be the symbol that all need!"

"What are you talking about? What makes you so damn certain of your place?!"

"You don't understand. I could scarcely expect a demon like you to do it.. But let me try to explain. The Digimon of this world look up to us, they look up to the Royal Knights with awe in their eyes and hope in their hearts. But what will they see when they do? Will they see Crusadermon, who delights in having power over others? Will they see Dynasmon, always first into the fight? Will they see Omnimon? Above all others and alone because of it? What would they think then? What would they hope? They could not hope for the aid of Crusadermon, nor could they truly rely on the strength of Omnimon! Understanding is everything but what could they understand of my companions? Fearless warriors they are, but by and large they fight for one thing and one thing alone: themselves. That's not what the Royal Knights should be. Its not what we _will _be. Not so long as I'm here. When innocents look to us, they should see hope! They should see fate! They should see majesty and honour and justice!

So I say... Let them look upon the honour of Gallantmon! Let them look to me to see what a real Knight is! Let them look to my honour, my grace. But most of all, let them look to my heart. Let them see all that I am and all that they can see. Let them look to me and see themselves! That is why I wear this armour! That is why I am a Royal Knight! That is the truth of my self. I am Gallantmon. And for the sake of all I uphold, I will _never _lose to the likes of you!"  
"Oh yeah? Enough talking then. You said some big words now prove it! Double Impact."

Gallantmon however doesn't raise his shield this time. Instead, he spreads his arms wide and suddenly the earth shakes and all you can see is crimson light.

"This is what it means to be a Royal Knight!"

And then., he cries out:

**Gallantmon Mode Change!**

The fiery aura that has sprung up around Gallantmon almost seems to collapse into itself. A white light so bright that it is blinding. You force yourself to look into it, blinking back the pain.

"What you trying to do now? You can't stop me! No one can stop me!"

"Perhaps." The voice is different now; deeper and filled with supreme confidence. As the light fades, you see that Gallantmon has changed. His previously red and white armour is now crimson and seems to glow with an inner heat. The faint red light cast by it is accantuated by the gold trimmings that have formed across it. From his back, there extends wings. Five pairs of glowing wings of energy. His armour is perfect. Not a single scratch remains from the beating he took. Not even spot of mud or a patch of blood to show how badly you had him beaten. A blade is held in his hands, but it is not the lance with which he impaled you. Its _a _lance certainly. But no lance you've ever seen has been double-bladed. Two points of sharpest light one at each hand. And Gallantmon's hand in the middle. A handle joins the two, his crimson gauntlet fitting perfectly.

He takes it and spins it, as though getting used to the weight. In his other hand; a blade. A normal-looking sword save that it is composed of purest light.

"Perhaps you are unstoppable." Gallantmon continues. " Perhaps what you say is correct. That you are an evil we cannot be rid of. That you cannot be stopped. But even so, you can be delayed. You Demon Lords haven't destroyed the Digital World yet. And not from lack of trying. So I say to you, that you never will. Not so long as I stand against you."

"Just who the hell do you think you are to make promises like that! You can't stop me and I'll show you why!"

Behemoth drops to your side and in the blink of an eye you mount it. Your weapons in hand, you take aim.

"Double Impact!"

The bullets discharge from your shotguns and scream towards the armoured knight. He doesn't dodge, the bullets smack into him and a series of thin cracks appear in his armour. But he's not hurt.

You drive; circling him and taking pot-shots when you can. You're not stupid enough to stay in one place long enough for him to hit you. His form changed...he mode-changed. You've heard of that before usually with weaker Digimon. But Gallantmon was already fully evolved. The thought that even after that he had more power to draw out fills you with a strange sense of dread.

"Drive as fast as you want, Beelzemon. That won't stop me from hitting you!"

A flash of crimson light and he's in front of you. You gap at his speed as his sword slashes for your chest. You kick up and abandon Behomoth just as his mid-timed slash bisects the sentient bike. You hear its cries in your mind as it is deleted. A tiny pang of guilt but you suppress it mercilessly. It was you or the bike and you ain't ready to die just yet.

Besides just like any Digimon Behemoth will be reborn. You just need to find it again when it is. In mid-air now, you twist to bring your weapons to bear.

"Double Impac-"

But Gallantmon's sword sweeps through them. The weapons spark for a second and then explode. You scream as the blast slams you into the ground. The wound in your shoulder flares up and for a second the world blurs around you. Feeling like you're about to throw up, you force yourself to stand. You aren't beaten yet...

Gallantmon is walking towards you. A slow but inevitable pace. Like an oncoming glacier. The thought of running briefly crosses your mind but you disregard it. You gasp for breath; blood running from your shoulder wound and loose data spiraling up around you.

You're losing data... Data which you had to fight so hard to acquire! No! NOOOO! You don't lose. Not to this guy. Not to anyone. He took your weapons and your bike; he wounded your body but more importantly he crushed your pride as a Demon Lord and you won't stand for this. Gallantmon dies. Right here, right now. You're going to crush him and then you're going to load him so that he can't ever be reborn. Then you're going to load the injured ones all of them. That'll give you the strength to hunt down the others

By the end of the week, the Royal Knights are just going to be a bad memory!

"Ah-hahahah." You rasp through the pain. " You...you have no idea just what you've done do you? Thanks to you, all your friends and allies are gonna die! I'm gonna hunt them all down every single one of them! I'll load everything you've ever loved hear me? This is what you've forced me to do!"

"No." Gallantmon says, still walking. "This is what you would do anyway, given the chance. Its in your nature. You would never stop loading. Never stop killing. Even when your strength eclipsed that of every other being in existence you would never have enough. That's why I am going to stop you here and now Beelzemon. I can no longer allow you to hurt innocents. I should have stepped in before but there was always much to do... the other Daemon Lords and even natural disasters caused by your dark touch. But no more. Now its just you and me, Beelzemon. And I said it once and I'll say it again. I will _never _lose to the likes of you."

That's what he thinks. Again, you reach into the depths of your core to drudge up an unexpected attack. You know the right one at once. Gallanton is a virus attribute, believe it or not. An attribute he even shares with you Demon Lords. But that means a vaccine attack will do extreme damage. That's why you used the Hand of Fate earlier. Unexpected and highly damaging. Though due to the fact that you're also a virus it pains you to use. This time, its a similar idea but a far more powerful attack.

This is going to hurt. Is your last thought as you draw out the strength. It does. Its a pounding, screaming agony that seems to gnaw at your very soul and try to break your concentration and crush your focus. But you can't let that happen; you won't get another chance at this. So you grit your teeth and press on. Marshalling the power and before you know it, your body begins to glow as well. The same pure white aura that announced your Hand of fate but this time so much brighter.

Agony. The world is bathed in red and you feel as though every tendon burns with a separate little fire. Your muscles scream and your bones they shudder. But determination fills your soul and you do not yield. You will not yield. You are Beelzemon. One of the Seven Great Demon Lords. And this is the day that you prove you deserve every word in that title!

The attack is ready. The pounding agony in your head subsides just enough for you to announce its name.

You cross your arms as the light flows down into your hands. Gesturing at Gallanton you speak through teeth pressed firmly closed.

"S-Strike of the Seven Stars!"

The attack launches. Seven stars speed from your outstretched hands. It actually looks a little underwhelming given how much effort you had to go through to do that. But you know its strength; you were on the wrong end of it once and it really did a number on you.

Gallantmon is the same. The stars strike home and there is no bright flash of light to announce their damaging effect. They just hurl him back. But there is the agonized scream that rips free him his throat. The cracks spreading like spider-webs through his armour.

Heh. You knew that'd hurt him.

He slams into the ground with a grunt and for the first time since his mode-change, you have the advantage. You still lack your weapons but you can make do with what you have. This time you reach for a data-attribute attack. Less pain that way.

"Treasure Axe!"

The axe forms in your hand. A weapon stolen from a long-dead foe. Not your primary armament but enough to finish this fight once and for all.

"RAAARGHHH!" You leap into the air and plummet towards the prone knight. The axe in your hand reassuringly heavy.

And then Gallantmon's eyes snap open.

"Crimson Light!"

Pain is all you know. An agony that makes even the suffering of summoning your vaccine-based attack seem like nothing. The power eats away at you but its not like the pure strength of Gallantmon regular. The small part of your mind not embroiled in suffering notes with interest that this energy is a whole different type.

Agony rips through you and there is nothing you can do to fight. All your aspirations as a demon lord; all your pride and threats. All brushed aside as easily as a storm rips through a shack.

When the pain clears you know that you are dying. You've felt it before after all. The pain is dulled in such a way that you can never mistake it. There's no blood now; you're hurt too bad for that. Data spirals up around you in great towers and you shrink to your knees. All your strength is gone and yet Gallantmon manages to stand.

How can he be so tough? You're a Demon Lord! How can this guy be stronger than you? How does this make any make sense! Hatred wells up in your heart. Anger...fury.

"Beelzemon. For all that you have done, there can be no forgiveness. For all that you have killed, there will be vengeance. For all you have done... your trail of destruction ends here."

"M-Maybe." You snarl, a the last embers of pride igniting in a final blaze. " But I'll be back. You can't kill a Demon Lord forever, Gallantmon! I'll get you for this... I'll make you pay!"

"Perhaps." Gallantmon says, his blade is now right against your throat. It burns already but you don't have the strength to resist. You're as good as dead this time but you know you'll be back. Even he can't seal you away for long. The hatred that wells up in you... you know this will last.

"I'll get you Gallantmon. I'll make you sure you never forget this."

A flash of moving steel and the world around you begins to dim. The last words you hear are Gallantmon's.

"Come back as many times as you want, Beelzemon. So long as I'm here, you'll never rampage across this land again."


End file.
